IGAN HISTO: 
A State Department of History 

BULLETIN NO. 9 

PRIZE ESSAYS 

WRITTEN BY 

PUPILS OF MICHIGAN SCHOOLS 

IN THR 

LOCAL HISTORY CONTEST 

FOR 1916-1917 



W\ 




LANSING, MICHIGAN 
WYNKOOP HALLENBECK CRAWFORD CO., STATE PRINTERS 

1917 



>. 



MICHIGAN HISTORICAL COMMISSION 
n 

A State Department of History and Archives 



BULLETIN NO. 9 



PRIZE ESSAYS 



WRITTEN BY 



PUPILS OF MICHIGAN SCHOOLS 



IN THE 



LOCAL HISTORY CONTEST 



FOR 1916-17 




LANSING, MICHIGAN 
WYNKOOP HALLENBECK CRAWFORD CO., STATE PRINTERS 

1917 



By Transfer 

FEB 21 1923 






PRIZE ESSAY CONTEST 

THE prize essay contest for pupils in Michigan schools was 
arranged by the Michigan Daughters of the American 
Revolution and the Michigan Federation of Women's 
Clubs. The four essays published in this bulletin are the prizes 
for 1916-17. The essays for 1917-18 will be published in due 
course. 

A few words in general may be said about the conditions and 
administration of this contest. The Daughters of the Ameri- 
can Revolution have charge of it in towns where there are Chap- 
ters of that organization, and the Women's Clubs in towns where 
there are Clubs but no D. A. R. Chapters. The Superintendent 
of Public Instruction has charge in towns where there are neither 
Chapters nor Clubs. 

Any pupil in High School, Parochial School, or Eighth Grade, 
is eligible to compete. 

The subject of the 1916-17 contest was, "The First School and 
the Children who Attended It," in the city or village in which the 
writer lives. The subject for 1917-18 is, "Our Soldiers, Past and 
Present," in the city, village or school district in which the essay 
is written. 

Two State prizes are offered, a first and a second prize, to each 
of two groups of writers. In 1915-16 first and second prizes 
were awarded for the history of a town of over ten thousand 
inhabitants, and similar prizes for the history of a town of under 
that number. In 1916-17 these prizes are awarded, in one 
group to all contestants under fifteen years of age, and in another 
to all over fifteen. 

Local prizes are also offered, for which two suggestions are 
made in the announcement: 

(3) 



4 PRIZE ESSAY CONTEST 

A. A framed picture of Lewis Cass, Territorial Gov- 
ernor of Michigan, as a first prize, the picture to bear a 
plate on which is inscribed the honor-pupil's name. 

B. A framed picture of Stevens Thomson Mason, Boy 
Governor of Michigan, as a second prize, the picture to 
bear a plate on which is inscribed the honor-pupil's name. 

A local committee for judging the essays is composed of the 
Superintendent of Schools, the Regent of the D. A. R. Chapter 
and the President of the Women's Club. Where there is no 
Chapter or Club in the town, the local committee consists of 
three people chosen by the Superintendent of Schools. 

When the Local Committee has selected the first and second 
prize essays, it sends them to the chairman of the State com- 
mittee, composed of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, 
the Secretary of the State Historical Commission (chairman), 
the State Regent of the Daughters of the American Revolution, 
and the President of the State Federation of Women's Clubs. 

All essays are passed upon by each member of the Committee, 
and those essays which receive the highest number of all votes 
are awarded the prizes. In case of a tie, all essays tied upon 
are awarded the State prize, which consists of publication of the 
essays in bulletin form by the Michigan Historical Commission. 

The contest closes on Washington's Birthday (Feb. 22), and 
the announcement of the winners is made by the State Com- 
mittee on or before June 1. The essays are published as soon 
thereafter as may be. 

It is required that the essay be written by each pupil with- 
out help from any person in its composition. No essay should 
be over two thousand words in length. 

The essays are judged according to the following standards: 

A. Original work done by the writer. This includes the use 
of original sources, such as interviews with participants in the 
events described, consultation of original documents, and con- 
temporary letters and newspapers. 



PRIZE ESSAY CONTEST 5 

B. Accuracy in the use of dates and citation of authorities. 
The authority for a specially important statement of historic 
fact is required to be given in a footnote. 

C. Method of treatment. Pupils are advised to write sim- 
ple, idiomatic English, and not to attempt fine writing; to avoid 
the use of slang, provincialisms or unnecessary technical phrases; 
and not to use foreign terms when there are English equivalents. 
On the other hand, picturesque phrases, good anecdotes, novel 
ways of looking at things, words in use during the time of the 
events described but now obsolete, when taken from original 
sources, add vivacity and flavor to the essay, and should be 
used. 

Teachers are requested to make the writing of the essay a 
part of the course in English as well as in history, and to lend 
their active interest in promoting the contest. 

State prizes in 1916-17 are awarded as follows: 

Over 15 years of age, to 

1. Cornelia Richardson, Bay City. 

2. Marjorie Poundstone, Benton Harbor. 

Under 15 years of age, to 

1. Edward Brigham, Battle Creek. 

2. Russell Holmes, Ludington. 

The following were accorded honorable mention: 

Alden, Achsa Cadillac 

Babcock, Cecelia Spring Lake 

Boyer, Kathleen Three Rivers 

Carpenter, Helen M Spring Lake 

Chatagnier, Stella Chesaning 

Dean, Deborah Cadillac 

Dodds, Gertrude Mae Mt. Pleasant 

Dumas, Faith Detroit 

Dykema, Anne E Spring Lake 



PRIZE ESSAY CONTEST 

Givisdale, Angeline Auburn 

Greenebaum, Lucille . Chesaning 

Grolean, George Muskegon 

Hand, William Three Rivers 

Hess, Caroline Detroit 

Hill, Frances Montague 

Hollinger, Janet Battle Creek 

Holly, Dorothy ; Charlotte 

Klepper, Gussie Bay City 

LaPres, Francis Muskegon 

Leiphart, Dorothy Willard 

Maine, Isabell Detroit 

McDowell, Fermor Detroit 

McLachlan, Edith Mt. Pleasant 

Palm, Albert Ludington 

Pflanzer, A Detroit 

Pollard, Harry S . Detroit 

Raub, Harold C Marshall 

Rice, Alice May Flat Rock 

Rockwell, Sylvia Allegan 

Smith, Marguerite Montague 

Stevenson, Ruth St. Joseph 

Swanson, Alfreda Spring Lake 

Vail, Eloise St. Joseph 

Van Ness, George Allegan 

Warden, Loretta Ludington 

Wills, Marjorie Frances . .Benton Harbor 



THE FIRST SCHOOLS IN BAY CITY 

BY CORNELIA M. RICHARDSON 

YEARS ago when the great western territory so long the home 
of wild animals began to be opened to civilization, the vil- 
lage of Bay City sprang up on the east bank of the Saginaw 
river. For several years, it consisted of about four houses, a 
hotel, a dock, and a warehouse. But people moving to the West 
saw the great wealth in the forests around the village and settled 
here and built homes. Then great lumber mills arose, and Bay 
City nourished and prospered. About this time people saw the 
need of a school where their children might receive an education, 
and so plans were speedily drawn up for the erection of a school- 
house. 

The first school on the land now covered by Bay City (then 
called, however, Saginaw), was held in a little log shanty on a 
farm in Hampton township owned by Captain Wilson. It was 
near the river on what is now Twenty-third street, but in 1840 
or about that time Bay City did not extend to Twenty-third 
street, so the first school in the village of Bay City was situated 
on the banks of Saginaw river at the foot of what is now Wash- 
ington avenue. The Gustin, Cook and Buckley buildings are 
thought to cover the spot where this little school stood. 

Unlike the schools of today, this little school house of long ago 
was nothing more than a clapboard cabin with two or three very 
small windows that let the light into one small and, I imagine, 
rather dingy room. There were no pictures on the walls nor 
were there any handsomely varnished seats placed in neat rows; 
instead, the walls were rough pine boards, and the desks consisted 
of one hard bench built all around the room a short distance 

(7) 



8 PRIZE ESSAY CONTEST 

out from the walls. The pupils, about twelve in number, sat 
on this bench with their faces toward the wall. As paper was 
very scarce they had to write on slates. What a noise there 
must have been when the pupils were doing their "spellin' and 
'rithmetic'M 

The school grounds were nothing more than a clearing around 
the school where the trees had been cut down. The stumps 
were still standing, but the pupils did not mind that. All they 
wanted was a place where they could play in. the fresh air at 
recess. 

To Miss Trombley, a young lady of the village, belongs the 
honor of being the first teacher. After teaching a few years 
she went west, and not long afterwards news was received that 
she had been killed by the Indians. 

At the time of this school Wenona, now West Bay City, boasted 
several houses, and several of the pupils from there had to cross 
the river to attend. In those days Saginaw river was much 
wider than now, and no bridge had been built across it. The 
pupils of Wenona had to cross the river on rafts and later in 
rowboats. On windy days it was almost impossible to cross 
the river, so the attendance of the pupils could not be perfect. 

Mr. Gano was the next teacher after Miss Trombley. While 
he was teaching, the Pitt Mill was erected very near the school 
house, by which time also the number of pupils had increased 
so much that the building was taxed to its capacity. For these 
two reasons it was deemed advisable to move the school to another 
part of the city. The little school house became a woodshed 
in connection with the mill and it is thought that later on it was 
burned. 

When Bay City celebrated home-coming week a few years 
ago the citizens were given a treat that few others have had. 
The little school house of Bay City of long ago was reproduced 
in the great parade. The pioneers said that a more perfect 
reproduction could not have been made, for the school was 
exactly like the old one, even to a large three-cornered piece 
that had been torn out of one side of the building. 

On Third street between Washington and Adams there was a 



PRIZE ESSAY CONTEST 9 

large building owned by Mr. Dodge, one part of which was 
occupied by a bakery shop and the other by a bowling alley. It 
was in this bowling alley that the second school in Bay City 
was located. In this building the pupils had desks; but they 
were of every kind, sort, and description, for each pupil furnished 
his or her own desk. There were no stores where one could 
buy desks, so father was compelled to chop a tree down, take 
the lumber to the mill where it was sawed into boards, and then 
make the desk himself. In this school Mr. Gano and Mrs. 
Ferris were the two teachers whom the pioneers seem to re- 
member. 

There was no yard around the bowling alley, so at recess the 
pupils went down to the river to play. Here they spent many 
happy hours floating on rafts; or when no raft was available, 
poling around the river on logs. Some even ventured out on 
the logs as far as the middle of the river. This was very dan- 
gerous, for the river was very deep, but no one thought of danger 
when having so much fun. 

James Barney was one of the youngest pupils who attended 
school in the bowling alley. He lived quite a distance from the 
school, near what is now Belinda street. One day in winter 
when James was on his way home from school a snowstorm 
came up and little James lost his way. Men were sent out to 
find him. After quite a search he was found in a snowbank 
almost dead. He was so cold that the tears were frozen solid 
on his cheeks. 

Another experience of the school children was in early spring. 
When the ice froze on the river in winter it was very solid, though 
not very thick; in early spring, even though the ice was thick, it 
was like rubber. Sometimes a person would sink right down in 
a spot that looked perfectly solid. One day in early spring a 
crowd of young school children went skating on the river. For 
some reason or other they all gathered in a bunch in the middle 
of the ice. A man standing on the shore saw the ice begin to 
sink, and knowing that the children would all be drowned if 
they stayed there he called to them to scatter. The children 
scattered immediately, and no one was drowned. 



10 PRIZE ESSAY CONTEST 

All this time Bay City had been growing rapidly. It was not 
long before one teacher was not enough to teach all the pupils. 
Besides this the bowling alley was small for a school. Accord- 
ingly, the city bought a piece of land on Adams street between 
Fourth and Fifth streets. A three-room building was erected 
here. It had one room on the second floor for the upper grades 
and two rooms on the first floor for the lower grades. This 
building is now the back wing of the Salvation Army Citadel. 

Three teachers were needed to conduct this school. The 
upper-grade teacher was also the principal of the school. There 
were several teachers, but as little can be found about them I 
can give only their names: Mr. Gano, Mr. Bacon, Miss Lovell 
and Miss Braddock (who were sub-teachers under Mr. Bacon), 
Reverend Root (the Presbyterian minister), Mr. Heisordt, Mr. 
Dunham, Miss Julia Cummings, Miss Cornelia Chillson, and 
Miss Ellen Chamberlain. 

Up to September 1865 the schools of Bay City were under the 
control of school district No. 2 of the township of Hampton. At 
this time the citizens of Bay City formed the "school district of 
Bay City." Plans were made and in a short time an addition 
was built to the school on Adams street. The building now 
comprises the whole of the Salvation Army Citadel. This school 
was used for many years; but it was not the only school in the 
city, for several ward schools were soon erected. 

Perhaps from the description of the schools one might think 
that the pupils were rough and ignorant. This idea is wrong, 
for all the pupils were the children of very well-educated people. 
It might be well to give here the names of some of the first pupils; 
of course the list is not entirely correct, for many of the pupils have 
long been forgotten. Among the first were : Margaret Campbell, 
Joshua Pierce, Cordelia Pierce, John and Kate DeFo, . Esther 
Rogers, and Richard Olmstead; later on, Cornelia Moots, then 
Cornelia Chillson and her sister Caroline. Mrs. Faxon attended. 
I put these last two names in for I am glad to claim Mrs. Moots 
as my grandmother and Mrs. Faxon as my great-aunt. 

Soon after Bay City began to increase in size, people saw 
what a beautiful place the west bank of the Saginaw river was, 



PRIZE ESSAY CONTEST 11 

and consequently many moved over and settled in what was 
called the village of Wenona. As it is now West Bay City, I 
thought something should be said of its first schools. 

In 1860 a landowner in Wenona donated a lot to the village 
for a school site. A neat little house was erected and pupils 
from all over Bangor township assembled there for instruction. 
For several years after it had been abandoned as a school house 
it was used as the polling place of elections for Bangor. 

In 1868 a new brick school house was erected on the Bay City 
and Midland Plank road, about one-half mile from the river. 
This building was capable of holding three hundred and sixty 
pupils. Mr. Cummings was the first principal of the new school. 
He was known as a very accomplished teacher. In one of the 
old histories of Bay County there was found a fumiy story about 
him which would be the best description anyone could give of 
him. As the story goes, Mr. Cummings was having a hard 
time to make his pupils behave one winter day. At last, just 
about in despair, he promised them a sleighride as soon as possible 
if they would behave. All was quiet immediately, and for 
several weeks afterward. At last the snow became just right. 

The pupils were told to meet at the school at a certain time 
and of course everyone was there promptly. A few minutes 
later the teacher drove up with a large bob-sled drawn by a 
mule. It is said the pupils had a delightful ride even though 
going at the surprising rate of a mile an hour. 

Not long after this a central high school was erected, and then 
from time to time more schools were added until now West Bay 
City has eight very good buildings. 

The prophecy of the explorer De Tocqueville has certainly 
been fulfilled in every respect; he said, "In a few years these 
impenetrable forests will have fallen, the sons of civilization will 
break the silence of the Saginaw, the banks will be imprisoned 
by quays; its current which now flows on unnoticed and tran- 
quil through a nameless waste will be stemmed by the prows 
of vessels. We were perhaps the last travelers allowed to see 
the primitive grandeur of this solitude." 



12 PRIZE ESSAY CONTEST 

Thus all things change. The new grows out of the old. The 
process by which this is done contains the lessons of history, 
and the period between the first school and the present day in 
Bay City schools is a field of study than which few others have 
more to teach us. 



THE FIRST SCHOOL IN BATTLE CREEK AND THE 
CHILDREN WHO ATTENDED IT 

BY EDWARD MORRIS BRIGHAM, JR. 

THE first schoolhouse in Battle Creek was built in 1834 under 
the old Territorial Law which compelled every township 
containing fifty or more inhabitants to hire a schoolmaster 
to teach the children reading and writing and instruct them in 
the English and French languages, as well as in good behavior. 

The little group of pioneers who had at that time settled on 
or near the site of the present city were of a kind to enjoy the 
privileges of this law. The majority of them were either from 
New England or were of New England descent. Most of them 
had been educated in Eastern schools which at that time were of 
course the best in the country. Many among the early settlers 
in and near Battle Creek, as well as in southern Michigan gen- 
erally, came directly from New York. They had entered a real 
wilderness to be sure but they came with the spirit of progress 
and so the school was one of the first important developments 
in this early community. A tax of sixty dollars was levied for 
the schoolhouse, although eighty dollars was the sum paid to 
Deacon Salter who had the contract for its construction. 

The first schoolhouse was built of logs from trees that stood 
near where it was erected. The nearest sawmill was located at 
Bellevue and lumber was brought from there for the floor, cas- 
ings and desks. The fact that this lumber was floated twenty 
miles down the Battle Creek river instead of being hauled over 
the wagon road, a distance of only ten miles, clearly shows that 
the highways of that day were extremely poor. The school- 
house was built on or near the intersection of Main and Monroe 

(13) 



14 PRIZE ESSAY CONTEST 

streets. It was a low structure with but one room, fifty feet in 
length. The roof sloped towards the road. The building was 
lighted by means of one door and several small windows. Its 
furniture consisted of simply constructed benches for the pupils 
and an equally simple table for the teacher's desk. The benches 
were fastened lengthwise to the walls of rough logs, so the backs 
of the pupils rested against the logs and the plaster which filled 
the spaces between them. 

The first schoolmaster was Warren B. Shepard who had just 
arrived from the East. Mr. Shepard was but twenty-four years 
old and was a wide-awake school man of his time. He had come 
directly from the schools of Sardinia, his native place in York 
State, where he had taught two years. This two years' practice 
followed his preparation for teaching in the Academy of Aurora, 
New York On leaving the Academy he received a "teaching 
recommend," which would now be called a certificate, from the 
head of the institution, Professor George Washington Johnson. 
The "recommend" is an interesting paper. It shows that the 
first teacher Battle Creek ever had was well educated and was a 
credit to the Academy in every way. The following is a copy 
of the "recommend" which is now in possession of Warren Shep- 
ard 's daughter who still lives in Battle Creek: 

Aurora Academy, November 26th, 1821. 
Warren B. Shepard has attended Aurora Academy and received 
instructions in Reading, Spelling, Penmanship, Geography, a 
review of "Cobb's Rudiments," "Kirkham's Grammar," "Pars- 
ing," "Daboll's Arithmetic," "Blair's Oratory," Rhetoric and 
Surveying. 

His deportment has been that of a gentleman. 

George Washington Johnson. 

The young schoolmaster arrived in Battle Creek in the spring 
of 1834 and in the fall was engaged to open the new schoolhouse. 
He is said to have been a good-natured young man with a keen 
sense of humor and many are the stories told of the ready wit of 
Battle Creek's first schoolmaster. Warren Shepard is described 
as being at this time a tall, slender, dark-haired man, with keen 



PRIZE ESSAY CONTEST 15 

black eyes, though in later life photographs show him to have 
been of a stouter build, and with a broad face and full beard. 

The pupils of this first school numbered about a dozen, though 
the names of only nine, five girls and four boys, are now obtain- 
able. The girls were Hannah and Lucinda Angell, Eliza and 
Ellen M. Hall, and Mary McCamly. The boys who attended 
this school were William Kirk who came in from Goguac Prairie, 
Hastings Hall, and Albert and Ezra Convis. 

Quill pens were used for writing, and slates were used for 
"ciphering," for there were no blackboards. The books used 
were the "Old English Reader, " "DabolFs Arithmetic," "Wood- 
bridge and Olnej^'s Geographies," "Kirkham's Grammar," and 
the old "Columbian Spelling Book." 

The children played games at the morning recess. They 
brought their dinners, which they ate at noon — the big recess. 
The children played in the nearby forest and gathered flowers 
while waiting for the bell to ring. As is the custom now in the 
country schools, they were dismissed early in the afternoon. 

Sometimes the friendly Potowatomi Indians visited the school, 
which rather frightened the younger children. The Indians 
somewhat feared Mr. Shepard, thinking him a French missionary 
who had come from far off to teach the "pale face" children to 
read. 

The birch rod was used on the children as a means of punish- 
ment. Slight offenses caused a boy or girl to be made to sit on 
the "dunce block." 

From the schoolhouse could be heard the rumbling whir of the 
flour mill and the clang of the anvil of John Marvin's Smithy. 
Back of the schoolhouse was the race which was built by Judge 
Sands McCamly on his return to Battle Creek from Marshall. 
He went to Marshall after finding that three government surveyors 
had applied at the land office to buy the land where Battle Creek 
now stands. The two village stores which were owned by William 
Coleman and Mr. David D. Daniels were next to the village 
school. In fact almost all of the village buildings and houses 
were clustered about the schoolhouse. A little way off was the 
mysterious forest with its Indians and wild animals. 



16 PRIZE ESSAY CONTEST 

This building was also the social center of the settlement of 
that time. The old Lyceum held its debates in the schoolhouse, 
some of the members of which were Judge Wm. Hall, Capt. John 
Marvin, Moses Hall, Dr. Wm. Campbell, Erastus Hussey, and 
Wm. Coleman. On Sunday in this building the Baptists were 
led in the study of the Bible by Rev. Robert Adams, and the 
Methodists also held meetings there. All general meetings and 
lectures were held here. 

Soon this schoolhouse was too small for the number of pupils 
who wanted to attend, so after some discussion over the matter 
it was decided to erect another building. This one was situated 
on the site of the smaller one, which was torn down. Later on 
another was built on another site, and later (1871) this was in 
turn destroyed to give place to the present No. 1 building. 

Mr. Shepard in later life married and had two daughters, 
Emily A., and Amande M. Shepard, the latter now Mrs. Goff, 
both of whom still live on the Shepard homestead on the out- 
skirts of Battle Creek. Warren Shepard died in 1875 at the age 
of sixty-five years. 

Battle Creek's schools now rank among the foremost in the 
entire country and show better perhaps than any other institu- 
tion how much and how well Battle Creek has grown since it 
was founded eighty-seven years ago. And who can say that 
much of the present high standard of our schools may not be 
due to the splendid beginning under Warren Shepard, the school- 
master in the old log schoolhouse. 

My sources are: Interview with Miss Emily A. Shepard, a daughter of Warren B. 
Shepard, the first schoolmaster of Battle Creek. 

Michigan Pioneer and Historical Collections, Vol. Ill, p. 348. 

Supt. W. G. Coburn's lecture, "The early Schools of Battle Creek," given before the 
Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society, January 25, 1917. 

Thomas M. Cooley's "Michigan," Chapter XII, pages 239-240. 



BENTON HARBOR'S FIRST SCHOOL AND THE PUPILS 

WHO ATTENDED IT 

BY MAKJOKIE POUNDSTONE 

IN the year 1862, when our town bore the name of Brunson 
Harbor, and boasted a population of six hundred, when 
even in imagination the people could not conceive of any 
good roads or good lights, this village which was then composed 
of a huddled group of stores and residences decided to have a 
schoolhouse. 1 Raising the necessary funds for this purpose was 
no easy task, but the people accomplished it, mainly through 
assessments. After purchasing the plot of land on which the 
Central School building of today stands they succeeded in hav- 
ing a small low frame building 24 by 36 feet erected on the corner 
of this ground nearest the present Methodist Episcopal church. 

The structure was unpainted and had one story. It had a 
bell tower, the proud possessor of a small bell. There was no 
glass in the doors, but the windows had small panes like those 
found in our modern French windows. The interior was rather 
a stuffy place. On first opening the door one saw a small parti- 
tioned space which was termed "The Wardrobe," in which the 
pupils hung their wraps and dinner pails on the hooks adorning 
the otherwise plain, unpainted wall. Two small windows fur- 
nished meager light. From each side of the wardrobe a door 
led into the schoolroom, 2 in the front of which was a platform 
on which stood the teacher's strong wooden desk. On the desk 
a ruler of extraordinary thickness reposed — when not in use. 
In the center of this room was a box stove, a rectangular black 



J A. H. Rowe, Stanley Morton, and Mrs. Johnson. 
2 John Lawrence, personal interview. 

(17) 



18 PRIZE ESSAY CONTEST 

looking object, which furnished the needed warmth. 3 On one 
side of this was a huge wood-pile, serving for two purposes; first, 
as fuel; second, as a place for recreant pupils and "dunces." 
The room's remaining space was filled with rows of long, carved, 
wooden desks, back of which ran low, hard benches with capacity 
to seat a dozen boys and girls; besides these there were charts, 
maps and a slate. 

The first teacher who presided at the sturdy desk on the plat- 
form seems to have been Miss Emily McClave. 4 Each of her 
pupils was charged fifty cents a week for tuition. Funny ex- 
periences sometimes varied the long winter hours. For instance, 
Miss McClave's boys fixed the stovepipe several times in such 
a way that when anyone suddenly stamped his foot the pipe 
came down with a dreadful crash and emptied its sooty contents 
upon the floor. 

The visits of the director were generally dreaded by the 
pupils, for at such times the children must know their lessons 
specially well, and it was "woe to the one that did not." The 
girls with their neatly braided pigtails of hair and clean calico 
aprons and the boys with their tight-fitting knickerbockers and 
cumbersome boots always had to sit up straight on their benches, 
with hands bright and clean from recent scrubbings. 

Mr. George Washington Toles, 5 justice of the peace, in his 
leisure hours taught this school in 1865. Mr. Stanley Morton, 
one of Benton Harbor's oldest and most influential residents 
was a pupil of both teachers. Mr. Morton is still living, in a 
beautiful colonial home on Morton Hill. He has done and is 
still doing a great deal toward beautifying our city. Ova Nutting 
who passed away last fall, John Robinson, Mrs. Wendell Rob- 
bins and Mrs. Spencer Van Horn, were also pupils of these 
instructors. 6 

The next winter Mr. William Hess, having returned safely 
from the Civil War taught this school. Mr. James Pender 
claims that Mr. Hess was the first school teacher, but after inter- 

% 3 John Pender's History of Benton Harbor. 

4 Mr. Morton (her pupil) , Mr. Lawrence, Mr. McClave (her brother) . 
5 Mrs. Johnson, A. H. Rowe, and John Lawrence (personal interviews). 
6 Names of scholars secured from Stanley Morton. 



PRIZE ESSAY CONTEST 19 

viewing several of the old soldiers and residents I have concluded 
that he was not the first teacher but taught the year after the 
w T ar. Mr. Hess was of such a plain, genial disposition and so 
popular that he became the victim of a nickname, and was known 
as "Billy Hess." It gave considerable amusement to humorously 
inclined gentlemen of the town to question the youngsters as 
follows : 

"Do you go to school?" 

"Yes, sir." 

"Who is your teacher?" 

"Billy Hess." 7 

Mr. Hess after a term of teaching retired from the school and 
took up carpenter work, his regular trade, which he followed in 
Benton Harbor for many years, after which he left for California. 8 
He was succeeded in the school by John C. Lawrence who taught 
during 1867 and 1868. Several of his pupils living are Mrs. 
Cynthia Winslow, Henry Diamond, Mrs. Brammal who lives in 
the former Hess home, and George Thresher. Both John C. 
Lawrence and Miss Hess, William's sister, who assisted her 
brother at times are both living. 

Several amusing incidents occurred during his teaching. One 
afternoon a little girl who was always bent on mischief would 
not obey him. Mr. Lawrence made her sit on the hard splintery 
wood-pile by the side of the old box-stove which was blazing 
merrily away. Suddenly a knock was heard at the door and in 
came a few select visitors. Of course Mr. Lawrence told the 
girl that she could take her seat, but she was stubborn and re- 
fused to do so, and consequently after sitting by the stove all 
the afternoon she was badly blistered. 9 At another time he was 
bothered by a sixteen-year-old girl, not very bright, who had a 
habit of falling asleep during school and causing much annoy- 
ance as well as amusement by her ceaseless snores. On this 
particular afternoon she made more noise than usual and Mr. 
Lawrence, unable to stand the racket longer, picked up his ebony 



7 Anecdote taken from Pender's History of Benton Harbor. 

8 Mise Hess, hie sister, claims he was the third teacher, and not the first. 

9 John C. Lawrence. 



20 PRIZE ESSAY CONTEST 

ruler and gave her several smart slaps on the shoulder with it. 
This made her exceedingly angry and she left school for good. 
Everybody talked about this episode. Some said it was a shame 
for him to have hit a girl on the shoulder so; but he said, "I am 
glad she did leave school because she was naturally dull and 
stupid and caused a great deal of trouble." Such cases would 
be treated differently nowadays. 

Evenings during the week, the church choir met in the building 
for rehearsal, and on Sundays the regular meetings of the church, 
which was undenominational, were held there. 10 Social events 
were held there too, until the American Hotel was built and its 
dining hall became the village's auditorium. 

Mr. John Lawrence had one hundred and twelve scholars in 
the one room of the old building. As his attendance increased 
he was given a neighboring tenement house by Cushion Burr, 
in which he placed the pupils of the first three grades under the 
new instructor Miss Bowman, who taught them the alphabet, 
the primer and the speller. Mr. Lawrence taught all of the 
grades in the old building and instructed the older ones in the 
higher branches like geometry and trigonometry. 

An incident occurred one day that amused many. A little 
colored fellow who had broken out with small-pox entered Miss 
Bowman's room, who as soon as she saw him hastily if not grace- 
fully climbed out of the window and ran to Mr. Lawrence. She 
told him that unless he sent the boy back to his home she would 
quit "right then and there." Mr. Lawrence hastened to her 
class and sent the lad away. 11 

It was a custom of the scholars to hold debates on various 
topics in the school-house in the evening, and one time they 
were debating on Negro suffrage. Among the people assembled 
was a drunken man. As the debate waxed hot and just as the 
judges were about to decide in favor of the "non-suffrage" side 
this man stood up and called out, "Anyone who thinks a Negro 

should not suffer is a fool." Of course this caused much 

amusement and the man was put out of the meeting. 



10 Mr. Lawrence and Charles Warner. 
"John Lawrence. 



PRIZE ESSAY CONTEST 21 

Showing how dearly his pupils loved Mr. Lawrence, when he 
was leaving the school they presented him with a large-sized 
dictionary bearing an inscription in George Thresher's hand- 
writing, and a copy of "The Earth's Structure" by Alexander 
Von Humboldt, both of which he still treasures. 

The first class to graduate from this building held their exer- 
cises in the new Baptist church. All the girls wore black and 
white dresses "fluffed" at the necks and sleeves, and having long 
sweeping trains. Mrs. Johnson, the dressmaker, who had the 
arduous task of fitting them said, "I dreamed of black and white 
for weeks and weeks after." 12 

In 1891 the school was incorporated under the county school 
system and became district No. 9. 13 Just before the new building 
was erected a part of this old building was given to Mr. William 
Hess who had just returned from California and was living 
across the street. He had it made into a barn and it still is 
used as such by its present owner, Mrs. Brammal who was one 
of John Lawrence's pupils. 14 The other part was sold to the 
Universalists for a church. They in turn sold it to the Colored 
church, the members of which moved it onto Branson avenue. 
As the majority of the colored population did not exactly favor 
the "church idea," they secretly set it on fire one night and 
burned it to the ground. It was never rebuilt. Nevertheless 
on the old school ground a new building was erected and this is 
still used as a grade school. 

12 Pereonal interview with Mr. Johnson 

13 John Lawrence. 

"Messrs. Morton, Warner and Rowe. 



FIRST SCHOOL OF THIS VICINITY AND CHILDREN 

WHO ATTENDED 

Part I 

THE VILLAGE OF PEKE MARQUETTE 

JUST as the sun was setting, around the bend of a beautiful 
quiet little river came a canoe, in which, standing, was a 
rather elderly looking man garbed in the long black robes of 
the priesthood. He was the only white man in the canoe; the 
rest were Indians. As the canoe grated upon the beach, Pere 
Marquette, for such it was, and his Indian followers stepped out 
upon the shore. 

Not many days after the landing, the same man who had come 
to Christianize the Indians had passed away while at his prayers. 
They laid him on a little mound close to the river's edge and 
marked his resting place with a crude wooden cross. 

>fc sfc ^ 

It was more than two hundred years after the little scene just 
portrayed had taken place — to be exact, in the year 1849 — 
when a few hardy pioneers came across Lake Michigan and 
settled not far from the place where the good Father and his 
little band of Indians had landed. Soon a building was taking 
shape and when it was finally completed it was known as "Baird 
and Bean's Sawmill." 1 

The channel was not wide here, and if lumber were to be shipped 
this needs must be remedied; and so, under the direction of Mr. 
Charles Mears, the channel was changed to its present location. 
All was now ready for the sawing and shipping of lumber. 

"^History of Manistee, Mason and Oceana Counties, Michigan, p. 18; also an. interview 
with Mrs. F. G. Dowland, February 10, 1917. 

(22) 



PRIZE ESSAY CONTEST 23 

Then the little village began to grow. Besides the few dwell- 
ing houses and the sawmill there was built a small store upon 
the docks. A new mill boarding-house, later the "Filer House," 
was begun in the autumn of 1865 and finished early in the spring 
of 1866. The old boarding-house was a primitive affair, being 
a long one-story building situated where the Flint and Pere 
Marquete depot later stood. Beyond was a long row of rude 
shanties ranged along an alleged street known by the highly 
significant name of "Saw-Dust Avenue." This romantic tho 1 
roughfare dodged along among the stumps until it lost its identity 
in the woods. The sawmill. was located on the south parts of 
the lots south of what is now Goodnough's gristmill and east 
of what is now Culver park. It was situated near Saw-Dust 
avenue. Along with the sawmill a little building was built 
for some lumbering work; in this the first school was born. 

In the spring of 1865 Miss Sarah Melendy gathered a few 
children and started the school. However, of her rule I have 
not been able to find anything of much interest. Then in the 
summer of 1865 Miss Tibbits came to succeed Miss Melendy 
and taught until October of 1866, when Miss E. C. Mitchell, 
later Mrs. F. G. Dowland, took charge. 2 It is of her rule that 
I have been able to find the most material about the little school. 
Miss Nellie Mills succeeded Mrs. Dowland in 1867 and taught 
until 1868. 

Part II 

THE FIRST SCHOOL 3 

In the summer of 1867 it was truly quite a picturesque scene 
that one could see on coming to the sawmill and the little school 
in the hollow. The silent waters that flowed by were filled with 
logs floating down to the sawmill. Great lumber camps were 
kept busy supplying the mill with logs. Then the logs were 
made ready, the lumber sawed and cut, and then shipped across 
the lake. 



"-History of Manistee, Mason and Oceana Counties, Mich., p. 19; interview with Mrs. 
F. G. Dowland on January 8, 1917; Mr. Dowland was the bookkeeper for the Pere 
Marquette Lumber Co. 

interview with Mrs. F. G. Dowland, February 10, 1917. 



24 PRIZE ESSAY CONTEST 

The great mill stands there with its loud buzzing saw near 
the peaceful pine forest that towers above all. Now and then 
an occasional call of some bird is heard in the great forest. You 
can see the workmen going to and from work, the little tugs 
hauling the great lumber barges in and out of the harbor, for 
the channel is not deep enough to allow vessels to use their own 
power. The busy people are going about the village and on 
the main thoroughfare, Sawdust avenue. And last of all, there 
is the little weather-beaten schoolhouse which adds the last 
touch to this little scene of the village of Pere Marquette. 

The little school stood in a hollow not far from Sawdust ave- 
nue. The building was small, about 25 by 20 feet. It was the 
only schoolhouse until 1867 when the Central School was erected. 
It looked as though it might have been painted brown, it was so 
badly weather-beaten. There was but one room in the little 
school. This was lighted by six windows, three on the north 
side and three on the south side. The walls were whitewashed 
and the blackboards were smooth boards painted black which 
were cleaned with a damp cloth. Some of the children were 
seated on long benches while others sat on chairs or school seats. 
The teacher's desk was like many of those in use today, opening 
at the top. The room was heated by a large box-stove such as 
was used in those days. Slates were used by all the pupils and 
in that one little room were pupils whose ages ranged from two 
and one-half to twenty years. The oldest pupil was one Edgar 
Allen, twenty years of age. There were about thirty children 
in all. 

No studies in particular were taught, for in those days regular 
school systems were not established, on account of the scarcity of 
books. But no matter; if a pupil could obtain an educational 
book of any sort, that one was used. This was the only way of 
solving the schoolbook problem. No two children were in the 
same book under Miss Mitchell's rule. 

Some of the children who attended the first school were the 
Danaher children — Molly, Katie, Conrad, Will and James. The 
smallest Danaher boy, Leonard, came often as a visitor. There 
were the two Foster boys — Frank and Eddie, sons of L. H. Foster; 



PRIZE ESSAY CONTEST 25 

the Sterling children, Louis and Kate, the latter now a teacher 
in the Ludington high school. Others were the Abairs and Peter 
Glasmire, now a lawyer in Manistee, and a very mischievous 
boy he was too; the story is told that when the teacher, Miss 
Mitchell, arrived at the schoolhouse one morning, upon opening 
her desk frogs began to jump out in every direction. Knowing 
well who the culprit was, she said, "Here, Peter Glasmire, are 
your pets. Put them where they belong." However, the chil- 
dren were not generally mischievous. 

The teacher was paid by Mr. L. H. Foster, acting as agent 
for the school board. She was paid "fifty dollars a month and 
keep." 

Part III 

END OF THE FIRST SCHOOL AND BEGINNING OF THE SECOND 

The little shanty in which the first school was held lasted 
much longer than the school itself. The school had changed 
teachers four times and had lived through a period of three 
years, had helped many to get their first knowledge of books, 
and had started into life persons who were to become leading 
influences in the community and in places round about. It was 
among the first things in the little village. The shanty had 
come for one purpose and had grown into another which was of 
more benefit to the city, had completed its work, and about the 
time that salt was first discovered here it was torn down to make 
room for piling lumber. Thus came and went the first school. 

But the little village continued to grow. In 1873 it was no 
longer a village but the City of Ludington, named after James 
Ludington, who was one of the main influences in its building. 
Many people still suppose that the name of the place was changed 
from Pere Marquette to Ludington at the time that the city was 
incorporated in 1873. Such however is not the fact, the name 
having been applied when the postofnce of that name was estab- 
lished here. The township retains the name of Pere Marquette 
under which it was organized, while the name of Ludington 
dates from the time when the post-office was established here, 



26 PRIZE ESSAY CONTEST 

as stated above; when the city was incorporated in 1873 it voted 
to retain the name. 

Mr. Ludington soon came into possession of much property 
in the city and donated $5,000 to be expended on the county and 
city public buildings. 

As the city grew it needed to have a large building for educa- 
tional purposes; so, shortly before 1867, a building situated where 
the present Hansen pharmacy is, was used for that purpose, 
having been used first as a private dwelling. 

In 1867 the Central school was built. The first principal was 
Miss Mary Mills, in 1868. In 1875 Prof. John N. Foster was 
engaged as principal, who held the position until the school 
burned in 1881. 

That you may gain some idea of the number of children in 
that school, I quote the following report for the year ending 
June 30, 1876. 

Number of children of school age in this district 604 

There have been enrolled , 614 

Number enrolled twice 26 

Actual number in school 528 

Many others took a deep interest in the city, among them the 
well-known captain, the late E. B. Ward. Its land was valuable 
for its great pine forests and underlaid salt. Thus the village 
came, and grew into a city, and the little school came and grew 
into many others, and lives now only in the memories of those 
who knew it while it lived. 



